Marketing Maestros

By Marni Gordon, vice president of committees and conferences, ANA

Posted: Dec 10, 2013 9:05am ET

The inaugural 2013 ANA Real-Time Marketing Conference presented by Starcom, held in New York City, brought together top client-side marketers who revealed how they use real-time strategies to grow their brands through social, mobile, content curation, data analytics, and more! This first-ever event was a success and there were over 300 people in attendance.

Key highlights from the conference were:

Kraft Foods Group and Starcom: The three critical components of agile marketing are data, infrastructure, and content. The five keys to success in real-time marketing are: strong data strategy, solid infrastructure, producing relevant content, having an established cross-channel attribution model, and cross-functional education. If you don’t have a strong data strategy, you can’t succeed in real-time marketing!

Real to be real isn’t real – stay away from fads and trends and do what’s right for your brand.

Regret – isn’t that you failed…it’s when you don’t try!

Anheuser-Busch: Digital is used to move their business and their two main KPIs are sales and brand health. Anheuser-Busch has a “P3” approach to digital and social marketing which stands for planning, process (who approves what and when) and practice (don’t be afraid to fail).

The Coca-Cola Company: Shared how they created “The Hub Network”, the nervous system of The Coca-Cola Company, which connects all functions globally and provides those on the front lines to respond and engage with real-time data.

MasterCard Worldwide: Created the MasterCard Conversation Suite located in the middle of their New York headquarters for all employees to be able to leverage real-time data and conversations at any time.

eMarketer: Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer’s real-time expert, discussed the latest trends in real-time marketing. The key to success in the next phase of real-time marketing is to align three marketing functions/areas: consumer insights, content creation, and paid media.

MINI: Lee Nadler, Marketing Communications Manager at MINI, shared that real-time marketing means: be present, be relevant, be responsive, and be prepared to be spontaneous. We also heard some of their success stories leveraging celebrities like Tony Hawk and having real-time social “brand volleys” with products such as Miracle Grow. It is amazing how much MINI is doing in real-time with a marketing team of only seven people!

By Jesse Feldman, senior manager of content strategy and partnerships

Posted: Dec 9, 2013 3:00pm ET

Cheap, fast, or good. One message I heard repeated during the ANA’s Real-Time Marketing Conference (held on December 4) was that with social media and real-time content, brands are no longer tied to the idea that “2 outta 3 ain’t bad.” Active listening to social trends and organically inserting your brand into the conversation were other recurring key takeaways from speakers. Several speakers highlighted Oreo’s Super Bowl blackout creative as a prime example of responding to an event with creative, real-time content. But this past week, another food brand out there scored an internet win:

DiGiorno Pizza found its way into the pop culture zeitgeist by adding its voice to Twittersphere during NBC’s live production of The Sound of Music. The brand’s live tweets managed to both engage with relevant commentary and integrate pizza in a lighthearted way. AdWeek was just one of many PR hits that praised the brand’s snappy tweets. And the praise is well-deserved: DiGiorno managed to get people talking about (and probably hungry for) pizza during a World War II musical!

Many marketers during our conference stressed the importance of not being afraid to fail during real-time efforts. But the pressure is on for companies to learn best practices and guidelines. As Patrick McLean, Vice President of Digital Brand Strategy at Capital One, noted during his Q&A session at the ANA Real-Time Marketing Pre-Conference, “No one wants to be the bad social media news story.”

By Bill Duggan, Group EVP, ANA

Posted: Dec 9, 2013 10:00am ET

“Extended payment terms will result in elevated supplier pricing and reduced supplier choice. It’s that simple,” per Tom Finneran, executive vice president, agency management services at the 4A’s. The 4A’s, of course, represents the agency community.

“The imposition of extended payment terms could cripple many post-production companies, drive them out of business, and deprive advertisers and their agencies of such valued and important resources as creative editorial houses, audio studios, color grading facilities, design shops, visual effects companies, and finishing houses,” per the Association of Independent Creative Editors, whose executive director is Burke Moody.

Client-side marketers need to consider what is fair and how they would want to be treated when considering their payment term policies. If the payment terms they are suggesting to their suppliers would not be acceptable to them as suppliers, a re-think might be in order.

With 42 percent of survey respondents stating that there is a likelihood of changing payment terms for advertising/marketing services within the next year, it would make good business sense to review the pros and cons of such a change, as well as both near- and longer-term implications. Companies are encouraged to open honest dialogues with suppliers to assess the consequences.

By Bill Duggan, Group EVP, ANA

Posted: Dec 5, 2013 9:30am ET

The just-released ANA white paper, “Payment Terms – Current Practices for Marketing Services,” finds that many marketers have extended payment terms or are considering doing so in the near future for a list of marketing services covering agency fees, research, media, production, and talent payments. ANA’s key conclusions from the white paper follow.

Client-side marketers who are considering extended terms should proceed with caution, and are encouraged to evaluate the downstream implications of such payment term extensions. There can be serious tradeoffs resulting from payment term extensions that can have both immediate and longer-term negative consequences. Noted in this survey are strained relationships with vendors, reduction in flexibility, and higher prices.

Furthermore, the very livelihoods of some of the smaller players in the marketing supply chain are threatened. This includes smaller agencies, production companies, editorial houses, and media outlets. Such companies require a predictable cash flow, often don’t have access to large lines of credit, and have pricing models that do not currently reflect the costs to their business resulting from extended terms.

Client-side marketers need to consider what is fair and how they would want to be treated. If the payment terms they are suggesting to their suppliers would not be acceptable to them as suppliers, a re-think might be in order.

With 42 percent of survey respondents stating that there is a likelihood of changing payment terms for advertising/marketing services within the next year, it would make good business sense to review the pros and cons of such a change, as well as both near- and longer-term implications. Companies are encouraged to open honest dialogues with suppliers to assess the consequences.

By Bill Duggan, Group EVP, ANA

Posted: Dec 2, 2013 12:30pm ET

ANA has just released the new survey research report, “Payment Terms – Current Practices for Marketing Services.” This work was initiated due to member interest resulting from reports in the advertising/marketing trade press and mainstream business press regarding changes in payment terms being implemented by a handful of companies to some suppliers. Our purpose was to determine if such changes were isolated examples or reflective of a broader trend. Key findings follow.

Reasons for Extending Payment Terms/Finance and CFO Main DriversThe majority of respondents who have extended their payment terms have done so in order to derive better cash flow. Next in importance is upper management’s focus on accounts payable, which is tied directly to cash flow. By far, the finance department and/or the CFO have the most impact in driving payment term changes. The procurement/purchasing area also plays a role.

More Than 40 Percent Likely to Change Payment Terms Within the Next YearForty-two percent of respondents say they are “very/somewhat” likely to change their payment terms for advertising/marketing services within the next year, including 29 percent who are “very likely.” Those respondents who are likely to change their payment terms cite three primary reasons for doing so:

By Bill Duggan, Group EVP, ANA

Posted: Nov 25, 2013 9:30am ET

Over the past month I have been to two concerts that prohibited cell phone photography. The notice here was posted on the doors of one of the venues. At another venue, an usher told me to put away the cell phone that I was using to record a song. C’mon … it’s 2013!!

It’s quite frankly antiquated thinking to request customers to “put away your cell phone.” Cell phone usage leads to sharing videos and pics which then stimulate conversations. The experience and good will of a concert can be amplified to many, well beyond just those in attendance. The branding of the artist can be extended. And they can sell more stuff – concert tickets, music, etc.

Artists – and consumer brands – need to encourage conversation. We are living in the era of real-time marketing, where consumers not only want to share their experiences in real time but also expect brands to reciprocate.

In today’s always-on digital world, brands need to be ready to not only connect with consumers at any time or place, but also readjust their campaigns based on real-time data. According to one survey, the use of real-time marketing techniques increases positive perceptions of a brand; interest in a product; the likelihood to seriously consider, choose, or try a product or brand; and the likelihood a consumer will recommend the brand to others.

I can guarantee you that there won’t be a sign on the door of the ANA Real-Time Media Conference (12/4 in NYC) prohibiting cell phone photography or any type of social media!

By Meghan Medlock, director of committees and conferences, ANA

Posted: Nov 20, 2013 8:30am ET

Yesterday, I ran the Midwest Digital & Social Committee Meeting in Chicago. It is always interesting to hear what other brands are doing to deliver on innovation and content marketing within Real-Time Marketing. One of today’s presenters, Hyatt Hotels, showcased how they are delivering on this. Their approach is to “listen” to solve consumers’ needs and to do so outside of the typical customer experience within their hotel properties. They recognize that it’s really about human interaction on a global scale because, after all, they have a global brand story.

In the course of a month, Hyatt activated around the globe to let people experience what it was all about, which is that Hyatt is a brand that listens to its customers and gives back through exceptional service, constant product enhancements, new amenities, and simply put, kindness. To deliver on this promise, they handed out umbrellas in high traffic areas during unexpected downpours, opened doors for people entering and leaving buildings and getting into taxi cabs, and more. The hotels took these gestures and ran with them around the world – 30 days, 31 participating hotels, 136 Hyatt associates in 25 global locations.

In 1 month (yes, just one month), they generated:

2+ Million Twitter Impressions

525,000+ YouTube views and counting

559 Instagram posts and over 330k impressions

Over 32,000 visitors on Tumblr with an average of 41 seconds per visit and over 55% of the visits from non US countries

Talk about a global movement for random acts of kindness.

The most valuable learning is that doing good things really matters and people will share it and come back for more. They learned that mobilizing a global staff isn’t as hard as it sounds when they are motivating them around something that showcases what makes them amazing. In real-time, no less!

Another very important lesson they learned is that no matter how much you prepare, there’s never enough time. So getting good at being VERY FAST is integral. I think many marketers looking to dabble into real-time can take this to heart and be bold when it comes to acting fast even though it may not be perfect the first time.

They also learned that focusing on the continual customer community and what that can mean will amplify long-term growth.

You will learn how top marketers are applying similar real-time learnings and much more at our first EVER ANA Real-Time Marketing Conference presented by Starcom on December 4th in New York City! Learn from Kraft Foods Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Hasbro, Anheuser-Busch, MINI, MasterCard Worldwide, Nestle, and more. Register now because space is limited! Click here for more information.

By Shannon Scanlin, associate manager, committees, ANA

Posted: Nov 19, 2013 1:00pm ET

Real-Time Marketing is one of the hottest buzzwords in marketing today. We all know the success story of Oreo during February’s Super Bowl blackout. With this headlining and award-winning tweet, the marketing world was shown the power of being in the moment.

But, “dunk in the dark” is not an example that every brand can adopt. Oreo had a fully stocked team ready to respond to what happened during the game. I believe smaller marketing teams can find inspiration in BMW’s MINI, one of the brands speaking at the upcoming ANA Real-Time Marketing Conference.

MINI USA is asking MINI owners (some of whom call themselves “MINIacs”) to create content for the brand. The company has issued photo challenges for owners. MINI owners take a picture of their car then post and tag the photo on social media sites (Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook). The tags help MINI find the photos and then curate them for their own use. Social media is helping MINI stay connected with their passionate owners and also have relevant content available for prospects.

Learn more about MINI USA from Lee Nadler, marketing communications manager, as he discusses how MINI incites passion with real-time content marketing at the 2013 ANA Real-Time Marketing Conference. Other speakers include Kraft Foods Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Hasbro, Anheuser-Busch, MasterCard Worldwide, Nestle, and more. Register now because space is limited! Click here for more information.

By Bill Duggan, Group EVP, ANA

Posted: Nov 18, 2013 9:30am ET

Sponsorship and event marketing are growing in importance within the marketing mix. Per the new ANA survey research report, “Sponsorship and Event Marketing Measurement,” measurement of sponsorship and event marketing is improving, but there is still work to do. The middling satisfaction with the return on sponsorship and event marketing measurement is tied to sub-optimal standards and practices. Suggestions for improving the state of such measurement are outlined below.

Ask Properties to Help with Measurement Marketers should ask all their sponsorship and event marketing properties for help with measurement, and write that requirement into contracts. It is important for properties not to just offer a menu of benefits, but to become true partners with marketers and work with them to establish, achieve, and measure business objectives.

Consider Procurement as a Resource Companies with strong marketing procurement organizations are encouraged to engage procurement in sponsorship measurement and evaluation. Procurement often has strong process-oriented skills and could be helpful in establishing standardized processes for sponsorship and event marketing measurement and evaluation.

Consider Marketing Mix Modeling Only half of those surveyed say that their companies’ sponsorship and/or event marketing measurements attempt to isolate the impact of that activity versus other concurrent marketing communications. More marketers should consider marketing mix modeling to help isolate the specific contribution of sponsorship and/or event marketing.

Partner with Subject Matter Experts Leverage the expertise of specialists like IEG (www.sponsorship.com) for sponsorships and the Event Marketing Institute (www.eventmarketing.com) for events.

Test and Learn with Social Media A key finding of this survey is the rise of social media as a valuable tool in measurement. Marketers are encouraged to use social media as a lever for sponsorship and event marketing activation as well as measurement.

Establish a Dedicated Measurement Budget All sponsorship and event marketers should have a dedicated budget for measurement. The benchmark identified in this study, a measurement budget of 5 percent, should be considered. IEG, in fact, recommends that the measurement budget should be at least 1 percent of the amount spent on the sponsorship, while a figure closer to 5 percent would allow for more meaningful assessment of outcomes.

In conclusion, there are opportunities via properties, procurement, marketing mix modeling, subject matter experts, and social media to enhance sponsorship and event marketing measurement, and help marketers make more qualified investment decisions. In order to maximize those opportunities, a proper dedicated measurement budget is required.